How do you call a cow? It’s not as simple as saying, “Here kitty kitty kitty,” and they come running. We always laugh because my father-in-law has his own little cattle call: Come Boss.

I did a little research to try to figure out where that came from, other than the fact that his father called them that way. I did find that the genus name for cattle (or bovine) is Bos Taurus. So I guess if you’re going back to the origination of the word, “Come Bos” or “Here Bos” makes complete sense.

Now I feel bad for laughing.

The great thing about using this cattle call is that the cows respond. It’s Pavlov’s Theory in action: cattle call = food. And, the use of the two cattle dogs, Jackie and Jeanie, enables my father-in-law to maintain an environment of low-stress cattle handling. There are no pokes, no prods, and the cows don’t get over-excited.

So the next time you’re visiting a cattle ranch and would like to get their attention, try, “Come Boss”. Sounds funny rolling off your tongue, but it works.

Until we walk again …